No game called Blue Whale: Kochi's Cyberdome chief

KOCHI: There is no game called Blue Whale Challenge, a senior police officer categorically said here on Friday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of 'c0c0n X - 2017', a conference on cyber security, inspector-general of police (IGP) and the nodal officer of Cyberdome Manoj Abraham said "the game is non-existent."
It was reported that several youths worldwide had committed suicide playing the game, which had several levels.Two deaths in Kerala, one in Thiruvanathapuram and another in Kannur, were also suspected to be the result of the game.
Abraham said Cyberdome experts had not come across even one administrator, goading gamers to undertake bizarre tasks. The experts had extensively searched the cyber space for more than a fortnight for clues of the game.
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Referring to the reported suicides in Russia, the IGP said a tutor had established direct contact with potential players over social media platforms, and goaded them to take up tasks fatal to the gamers. Abraham said 17 such cases were reported in Russia, and none recorded after the conviction of a youth.
The officer said the symptoms mistaken as signs of teens' participation in the game were those of depression and suicidal tendencies. He said the forensic tests of the electronic devices of the deceased did not reveal any evidence of the game.
State police chief Loknath Behera earlier told the conference that Blue Whale was not a game, but a set of stupid instructions issued by some system administer.
Parry Aftab, a digital privacy and security lawyer with 'Cyber Safety India. Org' termed the instances of Blue Whale-related suicides as fake news.